History Film / TheDarkKnightRises

''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012) is the third and [[GrandFinale final entry]] in Creator/ChristopherNolan's , b/{{Batman}} film series, ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''.

** Zigzagged with [[spoiler: the League of Shadows. The secret society's ''technically'' trying to complete the same plan Ra's al Ghul was pursuing back in ''Batman Begins'', i.e. destroy Gotham City. However, Ra's was executing the League's ancient mission of restoring balance to a civilization that had reached the peak of corruption and decadence. Talia and Bane, by contrast, have completley abandoned those traditional goals and ideaology. For them, destroying Gotham isn't about restoring balance at all, but instead honoring the memory of Ra's and punishing Bruce for his betrayal. Unlike Ra's, they're also willing to go so far as to kill themselves and the entire League just to triumph. The decay is justified in-story, as Bane and Talia's more extremist faction seized control of what's left of the League after ''Begins'' and are completley consumed with vengeance.]]
** Played straight with Bruce due to the ending of the previous film. The whole point of Batman was suppoused to present a sybmol to the people of Gotham to rouse them from their apathy and bring peace to the city. But Bruce had to sacrifice the symbol to ensure Harvey Dent's crimes as Two-Face didn't tarnish his legacy. Becoming Batman again in this film is ''ostensibly'' to protect Gotham from the threat Bane poses, but Alfred calls bullshit. He fears Bruce's depression over Rachel's death and losing the Batman identity for nearly a decade have left him a DeathSeeker. It ultimately gets reconstructed, though, as Bane's beating and his imprisonment in the Pit gets Bruce to snap out of his own apathy and finally, truly re-embrace his original mission statement.

''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012) is the third and [[GrandFinale final entry]] in Creator/ChristopherNolan's Franchise/{{Batman}} film series, ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''.

Eight years after the events of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Bruce Wayne (Creator/ChristianBale) has retired from his work as the Batman and settled into an unhappy (and secluded) life as the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. The Dent Act has helped the police slow the spread of organized crime in Gotham City to a controllable crawl without Batman's help. Commissioner James Gordon (Creator/GaryOldman), now resigned to paperwork instead of fieldwork because of the downturn in crime, has to deal with attempts by other city officials to drive him out of office for good -- while keeping the truth about Batman's disappearance a secret so Gotham can retain its newfound peace.

But the peace Batman has given his beloved city comes under threat just when Gotham needs him the most. A wily thief named [[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} Selina Kyle]] (Creator/AnneHathaway) draws the Batman out of hiding by robbing Bruce Wayne, but it's the appearance of the masked terrorist ComicBook/{{Bane}} (Creator/TomHardy) in Gotham that sets off a firestorm of events that ultimately forces Batman to consider how much he's really willing to sacrifice in order to save Gotham City.

** Commissioner Gordon calls for all of the GCPD to go into the sewers to root out Bane's army. This isn't the first time that Creator/GaryOldman [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74BzSTQCl_c called for all the police in the city.]]

** Taken UpToEleven when you remember that they're both [[spoiler:killing themselves by staying in the city where the bomb is, just to ensure that it will detonate as planned and destroy Bruce's spirit. All to avenge the man who excommunicated Bane.]]

** [spoiler: Bruce leaving Ra's al Ghul to die at the end of ''Batman Begins''. Bruce mistakenly and arrogantly assumed the League of Shadows died with his mentor. Instead, not only did the League survive and regroup, but the power vacuum brought Talia back into the fold and allowed her and Bane's extremist faction to seize control of the organization.]]

*** Even if Garcia had repealed the Act before Bane's arrival in Gotham, these crimminals would've still lost 8 years of their lives to the lie Gordon sold Gotham on. While it wouldn't have been quite the same propogranda victory, Bane still likely would've been able to recruit many of them into his army to get revenge.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite Harvey Dent's and Rachel's death being major plot points for the movie, no one so much as breathes a hint as to what happened to ComicBook/TheJoker and actively seems to go out of their way to pretend he never existed. [[ActorExistenceFailure This was done on purpose out of respect for Heath Ledger.]]

* MotiveDecay: Zigzagged with [[spoiler: the League of Shadows. The secret society's ''technically'' trying to complete the same plan Ra's al Ghul was pursuing back in ''Batman Begins'', i.e. destroy Gotham City. However, Ra's was executing the League's ancient mission of restoring balance to a civilization that had reached the peak of corruption and decadence. Talia and Bane, by contrast, have completley abandoned the League's traditional goals and ideaology. For them, destroying Gotham isn't about restoring balance at all, but instead honoring the memory of Ra's and punishing Bruce for his betrayal. Unlike Ra's, they're also willing to go so far as to kill themselves and the entire League just to triumph. The decay is justified in-story, as Bane and Talia's more extremist faction's seized control of what's left of the League and are completley consumed with vengeance.]]
** Played straight with Bruce due to the ending of the previous film. The whole point of Batman was suppoused to present a sybmol to the people of Gotham to rouse them from their apathy and bring peace to the city. But Bruce had to sacrifice the symbol to ensure Harvey Dent's crimes didn't tarnish his legacy. Becoming Batman again in this film is ''ostensibly'' to protect Gotham from the threat Bane poses, but Alfred calls bullshit. He fears Bruce's depression over Rachel's death and losing the Batman identity 8 years earlier have left him a DeathSeeker. It ultimately gets reconstructed as Bane's beating and his imprisonment in the Pit gets Bruce to snap out of his own apathy and finally, truly re-embrace his original mission statement.

* AdultFear:
** Aside from the business of a child having to grow up in a HellholePrison and Gotham City being held hostage and thrown into anarchy, the movie also deals with the topic of a loved one [[spoiler:turning out to be a BitchInSheepsClothing and plotting against you the entire time. To be more specific, Miranda Tate is revealed to be the actual BigBad Talia al Ghul, who proceeds to backstab Bruce in more ways than one.]]
** A major metropolis is seized by a terrorist organization and held hostage for ''five months.'' The poor citizens are forced to eke it out, with the very possibility of being gunned down by terrorist goons at any minute. The police are trapped underground, cut off from the citizens that need their protection, and outside intervention, especially by military forces, and leaving the area is impossible due to the terrorist leader threatening to blow up the entire city if any of those things happen. Oh, and some of the people trapped? They were fans of a visiting football team, forced away from their loved ones with no way to contact them and inform them that they're at least alive.

* MotiveDecay: Zigzagged with [[spoiler: the League of Shadows. The secret society's ''technically'' trying to complete the same plan Ra's al Ghul was pursuing back in ''Batman Begins'', i.e. destroy Gotham City. However, Ra's was executing the League's ancient mission of restoring balance to a civilization that had reached the peak of corruption and decadence. Talia and Bane, by contrast, have completley abandoned the League's traditional goals and ideaology. For them, destroying Gotham isn't about restoring balance at all, but instead honoring the memory of Ra's and punishing Bruce for his betrayal. unlike Ra's, they're also willing to go so far as to kill themselves and the entire League just to triumph. The decay is justified in-story, as Bane and Talia's more extremist faction have seized control of what's left of the League and are completley consumed with vengeance.]]

* MotiveDecay: Played with. [[spoiler: The League of Shadows ''technically'' is trying to complete the same plan Ra's al Ghul was pursuing in ''Batman Begins'', i.e. destroy Gotham City. However, Ra's was executing the League's ancient mission of restoring balance to a civilization that had reached the peak of corruption and decadence. Talia and Bane, by contrast, have completley abandoned the League's traditional goals and ideaology. For them, destroying Gotham isn't about restoring balance, but honoring the memory of Ra's and punishing Bruce for his betrayal -- and they're willing to go so far as to kill themselves and the League's remnant just to triumph. The decay is justified in-story, as Bane and Talia's more extremist faction have seized control of the League and are consumed with vengeance.]]

* MotiveDecay: Played with. [[spoiler: The League of Shadows ''technically'' is trying to complete the same plan Ra's al Ghul was pursuing in ''Batman Begins'', i.e. destroy Gotham City. However, Ra's was executing the League's ancient mission of restoring balance to a civilization that had reached the peak of corruption and decadence. Talia and Bane, by contrast, have completley abandond that ancient mission statement. For them, destroying Gotham isn't about restoring balance, but honoring the memory of Ra's and punishing Bruce for his betrayal. The decay is justified in-story, as Bane and Talia's more extremist faction have seized control of the League's remnant and are consumed with pursuing vengeance.]]

* AdultFear:

* MotiveDecay: Played with. [[spoiler: The League of Shadows is again trying to destroy Gotham and complete what Ra's al Ghul started during ''Batman Begins''. However, Ra's was executing the League's ancient mission of restoring balance to a civilization that had reached the peak of corruption and decadence. Talia and Bane, by contrast, have abandond that ancient mission statement. Destroying Gotham isn't about restoring balance, but honorign the memory of Ra's and punishing Bruce in revenge. Justified, as Bane and Talia are more extreme than Ra's and any modicum of restraint and moderation within the League died with Ra's.]]

** [[spoiler: The League of Shadows surviving the events of ''Batman Begins''. This is, after all, a secret society that has endured since the time of the Roman Empire (or at least so they claimed in ''Begins''). So, Bruce defeating Ra's al Ghul would ''not'' automatically destroy the League as he mistakenly and arrogant believed. ''However'', Bruce's actions ''did'' leave the organization severely crippled between the destruction of their Asian headquarters, the death of Ra's, and the massive expenditure of funds, resources, and manpower invested into the ultimately failed Gotham operation. The ensuing power vaccuum also removed whatever modicum of restraint and moderation Ra's represented and left the society vulnerable to takeover from extremist or exocommunicated parties like Bane and Talia.]]

** [spoiler: Bruce leaving Ra's al Ghul to die at the end of ''Batman Begins''. Bruce mistakenly and arrogantly assumed the League of Shadows died with his mentor. Instead, not only did the League survive and regroup, but it brought Talia back into the fold and allowed her and Bane's extremist faction to seize control of the remnant.]]

** [[spoiler: The League of Shadows surviving the events of ''Batman Begins''. This is, after all, a secret socirty that has endured since the time of the Roman Empire (or at least so they claimed in ''Begins''). So, Bruce defeating Ra's al Ghul would automatically destroy the League. ''However'', Bruce's actions ''did'' leave the organization severely crippled between the destruction of their Asian headquarters, the death of Ra's, and the massive expenditure of funds, resources, and manpower invested into the ultimately failed Gotham operation. The ensuing power vaccuum also left the society vulnerable to takeover from extremist or exocommunicated parties like Bane and Talia.]]

** [spoiler: Bruce leaving Ra's al Ghul to die at the end of ''Batman Begins''. Bruce mistakenly assumed the League of Shadows died with his mentor. Instead, not only did the League survive and regroup, but it brought Talia back into the fold and allowed her and Bane's extremist faction to seize control of the remnant.]]

** [[spoiler: The League of Shadows surviving the events of ''Batman Begins''. Bruce defeating Ra's al Ghul did not automatically destroy the secret society. ''However'', Bruce's actions ''did'' leave the organization severely crippled between the destruction of their Asian headquarters, the death of Ra's, and the massive expenditure of funds, resources, and manpower invested into the ultimately failed Gotham operation. The ensuing power vaccuum also left the society vulnerable to takeover from extremist or exocommunicated parties like Bane and Talia.]]
** The downfall of the Gotham Mob in the interim since the previous film. As Dent pointed out to the Mayor after the RICO indictment (and before everything went to hell), the GCPD had already arrrested the mid-level Mobsters who couldn't make bail yet couldn't afford to remain off the streets for too long. Dent predicted they would all cut plea deals, but they ''would'' serve at least some jail time (Dent estimated at least 18 months minimum). In addition, Joker directly or indirectly killed the post-Falcone leadership (Gambol, the Chechnen, and Maroni) ''and'' destroyed their cumulative finances. The Gotham Mob exited ''The Dark Knight'' all but fatally crippled and almost certainly would've collapsed even without the passage of the Dent Act.

** The collapse of the Gotham Mob in the interim since the previous film. As Dent pointed out to the Mayor after the RICO indictment (and before everything went to hell), the GCPD had already arrrested the mid-level Mobsters who couldn't make bail and couldn't afford to remain off the streets for too long. Dent predicted they would cut plea deals, but they ''would'' serve at least some jail time (Dent estimated at least 18 months). In addition, Joker directly or indirectly killed the post-Falcone leadership (Gambol, the Chechnen, and Maroni) ''and'' destroyed their finances. Even without the passage of Dent Act, the Gotham Mob likely wouldn't have survived for long.

** [[spoiler: The League of Shadows surviving the events of ''Batman Begins''. Bruce defeating Ra's al Ghul did not automatically destroy the secret society. ''However'', Bruce's actions ''did'' leave the organization severely crippled between the destruction of their headquarters, the death of Ra's, and the massive expenditure of funds, resources, and manpower for the ultimately failed strike on Gotham. Such conditions also made it easy for extremist or exocommunicated element to take advantage of the power vacuum -- which Bane and Talia did.]]

* BettyAndVeronica: Miranda Tate as the clean-energy pioneering Betty, Selina Kyle as the flirtatious cat burglar Veronica who steals a necklace belonging to Bruce's mother in her first scene.[[spoiler: [[BettyAndVeronicaSwitch However]] Miranda reveals herself to be Talia al Ghul, aiming to destroy Gotham and avenge her father, whom she ''hates'' Bruce Wayne for killing. Selina reveals herself to be a NobleDemon.]]

* BettyAndVeronica: Miranda Tate as the clean-energy pioneering Betty, Selina Kyle as the flirtatious cat burglar Veronica who steals a necklace belonging to Bruce's mother in her first scene.[[spoiler:BettyAndVeronicaSwitch: Miranda reveals herself to be Talia al Ghul, aiming to destroy Gotham and avenge her father, whom she ''hates'' Bruce Wayne for killing. Selina reveals herself to be a NobleDemon.]]

* BettyAndVeronica: Miranda Tate as the clean-energy pioneering Betty, Selina Kyle as the flirtatious cat burglar Veronica who steals a necklace belonging to Bruce's mother in her first scene.
** [[spoiler:BettyAndVeronicaSwitch: Miranda reveals herself to be Talia al Ghul, aiming to destroy Gotham and avenge her father, whom she ''hates'' Bruce Wayne for killing. Selina reveals herself to be a NobleDemon.]]

** Upon his return to Gotham, Bruce grabs a Batsuit from the underground bunker he operated out of in ''The Dark Knight''.